The Hallsville R-IV Board believes that continuous evaluation is essential to exemplary stewardship. Members of the Board willingly take on the difficult but crucially important task of grading themselves. The primary purpose of this assessment is the improvement of Board leadership. A total Board evaluation instrument will be used in this process.

Guideposts

An effective program of evaluation contains many essential features. The following conditions are crucial to evaluation that has as its primary purpose the improvement of Board leadership.

1. Board members should know the standards against which they will evaluate themselves. Better yet, they should be involved in the development of the standards.
2. The Board shall conduct a self-evaluation at least annually. The evaluation shall occur at a special session with no other items on the agenda. All Board members should be present during the evaluation.
3. The evaluation should be a composite of the individual Board members opinions, but the Board as a whole should meet to discuss the results.
4. The evaluation should include a discussion of strengths as well as weaknesses.
5. The Board should not limit itself to those items which appear on the evaluation form. No form or set of guidelines could encompass the totality of a school board's responsibilities.
6. Each judgment should be supported by as much rational and objective evidence as possible.

Performance Objectives

When the Board has received the composite profiles from the self-evaluation, the members will then discuss the results in detail and relate them to the objectives for the ensuing year. Most objectives will be stated in the form of behavioral change or productivity gains. Implied in this approach is an assumption that an individual is capable of improvement. The chances that he/she will improve are enhanced if evaluation is carried out systematically in accordance with good planning, conscientious follow-through, and careful assessment of results.